Colorado is considered a “Blue State” today – having voted against the GOP and Trump in the last three elections. And with the State GOP in seemingly permanent disarray, and a frankly worthless LP; the General Assembly (both houses) is a hotbed of regressive actions. Maybe not up to California “standards” but bad.
But the reality is different. Despite the gerrymandering (the usual political partisanship both old parties engage in), Colorado’s congressional delegation is evenly split: 4 to 4. (Both senators are currently Dems, together with most State officials.) The final race was just called 6 days after Election Day, when a GOP member defeating the Democrat by only a few hundred votes in District 8. District 8 is the northern side of the Metro Denver area, stretching along US85 to the college city of Greeley and including portions of oil- and gas-rich Weld County, and parts of both Adams and Larimer County. Those two counties are dominated by “liberal” (regressive) cities: Aurora and Fort Collins (home of Colorado State University).
Democrats losing District 8 is shattering the Front Range: the Democratic urban area stretching nearly from Wyoming all the way to just north of Colorado Springs. (Colorado Springs is the small rectangular red area: home of massive Army, Air, and Space Forces installations).
The gerrymandering was exquisite.
The Eastern Plains (deeply conservative ranching, farming, and oil) were lumped together with Douglas County, which has become another bedroom suburia for Metro Denver and as liberal as the other seven counties around Denver.
The Western Slope (again mostly deeply conservative ranching, oil, and once upon a time farming and timber) was also crafted carefully. In addition to the Woke wealthy areas like Telluride and Durango, it was stuck with the Hispanic San Luis Valley and Trinidad and the union-strong Pueblo area. All very loyal to the Democrats, of course. But not this year.
Two of the blue districts are most of Denver Metro, but the two larger blue districts are carefully (and weirdly) laid out. The north one is rooted firmly on Boulder and Fort Collins (university towns) and a few mountain liberal bastions (Aspen, Steamboat Springs). The south one holds regressive Woke Jefferson and Broomfield Counties, with Vail and Dillon, and drags the Central Rockies along with it: conservatives and libertarians in the mountains are vastly outnumbered.
Still, the Democrats hold great power because they control the major urban areas. Denver reelected their harridan with 76% of the vote. And the votes in most other districts were close.
But as in the rest of the States, the Democrats did it to themselves. For once, the Republicans couldn’t make enough of a mess of their party to defeat themselves.
How did the Democrats do it? They estranged much of the Hispanic vote, for one. Although Colorado has its more than fair share of recent immigrants, many Coloradoans of Hispanic heritage are descendants of settlers back in the 1600s when it was part of Mexico Nuevo. They apparently even ticked off a lot of black Coloradoans – the State followed national trends which saw many more black men vote red this year. Even though the urban areas far outvote and dominate the rural areas, many traditional Democratic voters in those rural areas either switched sides or just didn’t vote. Coupled with similarly disaffected Democrats in suburban areas, it has tilted Colorado. At least temporarily.
Sadly, the Colorado LP – the original home of the modern Libertarian Party – is about as dysfunctional as it is possible to be and still exist. Or so it seems. Even more so than the Colorado Republican Party is. And it is pretty bad: torn between the extreme (and apparently popular) Lauren Bobert wing and the growing number of “compassionate conservatives” who seek some influence with the Democrat majority in the General Assembly. And mostly that means caving in on anything and everything, instead of taking a stand. A forlorn hope, in multiple ways.
The entire State is up in the air – a state of flux. But we fear that for now, despite the split congressional delegation, Colorado is increasingly captive to the Regressive tyrants of both the Democratic Party and their GOP “opponents.” There is less and less room for liberty in the beautiful State.
Follower of Christ Jesus (a christian), Pahasapan (resident of the Black Hills), Westerner, Lover of Liberty, Free-Market Anarchist, Engineer, Army Officer, Husband, Father, Historian, Writer, Evangelist. Successor to Lady Susan (Mama Liberty) at TPOL.
The Price of Liberty 
The Colorado dilemma?
Colorado is considered a “Blue State” today – having voted against the GOP and Trump in the last three elections. And with the State GOP in seemingly permanent disarray, and a frankly worthless LP; the General Assembly (both houses) is a hotbed of regressive actions. Maybe not up to California “standards” but bad.
But the reality is different. Despite the gerrymandering (the usual political partisanship both old parties engage in), Colorado’s congressional delegation is evenly split: 4 to 4. (Both senators are currently Dems, together with most State officials.) The final race was just called 6 days after Election Day, when a GOP member defeating the Democrat by only a few hundred votes in District 8. District 8 is the northern side of the Metro Denver area, stretching along US85 to the college city of Greeley and including portions of oil- and gas-rich Weld County, and parts of both Adams and Larimer County. Those two counties are dominated by “liberal” (regressive) cities: Aurora and Fort Collins (home of Colorado State University).
Democrats losing District 8 is shattering the Front Range: the Democratic urban area stretching nearly from Wyoming all the way to just north of Colorado Springs. (Colorado Springs is the small rectangular red area: home of massive Army, Air, and Space Forces installations).
The gerrymandering was exquisite.
The Eastern Plains (deeply conservative ranching, farming, and oil) were lumped together with Douglas County, which has become another bedroom suburia for Metro Denver and as liberal as the other seven counties around Denver.
The Western Slope (again mostly deeply conservative ranching, oil, and once upon a time farming and timber) was also crafted carefully. In addition to the Woke wealthy areas like Telluride and Durango, it was stuck with the Hispanic San Luis Valley and Trinidad and the union-strong Pueblo area. All very loyal to the Democrats, of course. But not this year.
Two of the blue districts are most of Denver Metro, but the two larger blue districts are carefully (and weirdly) laid out. The north one is rooted firmly on Boulder and Fort Collins (university towns) and a few mountain liberal bastions (Aspen, Steamboat Springs). The south one holds regressive Woke Jefferson and Broomfield Counties, with Vail and Dillon, and drags the Central Rockies along with it: conservatives and libertarians in the mountains are vastly outnumbered.
Still, the Democrats hold great power because they control the major urban areas. Denver reelected their harridan with 76% of the vote. And the votes in most other districts were close.
But as in the rest of the States, the Democrats did it to themselves. For once, the Republicans couldn’t make enough of a mess of their party to defeat themselves.
How did the Democrats do it? They estranged much of the Hispanic vote, for one. Although Colorado has its more than fair share of recent immigrants, many Coloradoans of Hispanic heritage are descendants of settlers back in the 1600s when it was part of Mexico Nuevo. They apparently even ticked off a lot of black Coloradoans – the State followed national trends which saw many more black men vote red this year. Even though the urban areas far outvote and dominate the rural areas, many traditional Democratic voters in those rural areas either switched sides or just didn’t vote. Coupled with similarly disaffected Democrats in suburban areas, it has tilted Colorado. At least temporarily.
Sadly, the Colorado LP – the original home of the modern Libertarian Party – is about as dysfunctional as it is possible to be and still exist. Or so it seems. Even more so than the Colorado Republican Party is. And it is pretty bad: torn between the extreme (and apparently popular) Lauren Bobert wing and the growing number of “compassionate conservatives” who seek some influence with the Democrat majority in the General Assembly. And mostly that means caving in on anything and everything, instead of taking a stand. A forlorn hope, in multiple ways.
The entire State is up in the air – a state of flux. But we fear that for now, despite the split congressional delegation, Colorado is increasingly captive to the Regressive tyrants of both the Democratic Party and their GOP “opponents.” There is less and less room for liberty in the beautiful State.
Share this:
About TPOL Nathan
Follower of Christ Jesus (a christian), Pahasapan (resident of the Black Hills), Westerner, Lover of Liberty, Free-Market Anarchist, Engineer, Army Officer, Husband, Father, Historian, Writer, Evangelist. Successor to Lady Susan (Mama Liberty) at TPOL.